Christians urge police to reopen church

Christians in West Java have urged police and local government to open up a church which was shuttered in 2008.

In a January 14 ruling, the Supreme Court ordered local authorities to allow Christians use the Taman Yasmin Church in Bogor.

However, despite winning the dispute, they cannot get into the church as police are withholding the keys, according to Renata Anggreny, an official of the church.

Local authorities ordered the closure of the church in February 2008, two years after its building permit was issued, following pressure from a hardliners group claiming Christians had used the church to convert people to embrace Christianity.